BATH, Maine — A 38-year-old Bath man was charged with operating under the influence and other offenses Wednesday evening after Bath police say officers watched him nearly strike pedestrians in a parking lot.

Charles Zantow, 38, of Bath was charged with operating under the influence, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and operating a motor vehicle without a license as a result of the incident, which took place at approximately 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot at 111 Centre St.

Bath police Detective Sgt. Robert Savary and Detective David Beauregard were off duty, training outside Halls Olympic Martial Arts Center at 111 Centre St., when a silver Dodge sedan with a blown-out tire sped into the parking lot from Washington Street, just missing several pedestrians — including children — and a vehicle, Bath Police Lt. Stan Cielinski said today.

The car continued through the lot onto Middle Street, and in to the Midcoast Federal Credit Union parking lot.

At the same time, another member of the Bath Police Department, Officer Ted Raedel, pulled into the 111 Centre St. parking lot and headed to a Tae Kwon Do class, according to a release from Bath Police Chief Michael Field.

Savary climbed into Raedel’s vehicle and the two drove to Midcoast Federal Credit Union, where they discovered Zantow and two passengers in the Dodge.

According to Field, all three occupants of Zantow’s vehicle were intoxicated.

Witnesses reported to on-duty responding officers that before Zantow drove through the Centre Street lot, they watched him strike a parked minivan on Washington Street, then swerve into a curb, causing his right front tire to burst and seriously damaging the tire’s rim. The witnesses had called 911 and then followed Zantow until police responded, according to Field.

“What was really scary was that they shot through the parking lot and there were young people coming and going,” Cielinski said today, noting that 5:30 p.m. was “a busy time of day” for both Amatos and Halls Olympic Marital Arts Center.

Zantow was arrested and released from the Bath police station on $1,500 unsecured bail. He is scheduled to appear in West Bath District Court on Nov. 8.

His two passengers, Charles Leeman, 38, of Topsham and James Leeman, 40, of Bath were issued traffic infractions for having open containers in a vehicle, according to Cielinski.